Southwest Eliminating Flight Credit Expirations
 

As of July 28, our flight credit policy has changed. With this change, now your flight credit(s) that are unexpired on or created on or after July 28, 2022 will not expire! No action is required on your part—your applicable flight credit is available and ready for you to use. When viewing your flight credit, you will temporarily see an expiration date until we are able to update our systems. That said, there is no longer an expiration date for your flight credit. Remember a flight credit with an expiration date on or before July 27, 2022 is still expired and not available for use.

Hopefully this takes off some pressure from people who are booked to fly this summer just to burn credits.

That is good to know. I dislike the Southwest boarding/seating process so much that I am willing to go up to LAX, driving past LGB wishing that jetBlue was still there.

I booked a ticket on the banana from LAX for $105 +points and cancelled it Got spanked with a $33 "passenger usage fee" though I booked it on the Spirit website. Was given a short period of time (60 days maybe or 30 or 90 day, I forget) to use that credit or lose it (the travel date could be beyond that time period).

I rebooked it with no checked or carry-on luggage. Could pay extra to select seats but declined and then was given option to get decent assigned seats (towards the front, one window, one aisle) and paid that. Only had to pay $1.14 more for the new ticket.

At one point when looking at using points (only 4000) for a roundtrip on Spirit they wanted to charge a $50 fee for using the points which, with tax, made the ticket cost $56 or so, while just paying cash for the ticket would cost $62.

So, your post saying how the Southwest policies got even better, makes me think that I should just go ahead and give them another chance at LGB.

That's funny, I love the Southwest boarding and seat process. They were floating questionnaires to their FF members a while ago about possible changes, and I think going to assigned seating was one, but also baggage fees, and I really said I disliked both.

I really like being able to look around and avoid sitting near people who look like people I don't want to be near in various ways (like with small children, whatever), as little kids usually board between A and B groups, I believe. And if you pay for early bird checkin, which I always do for long distance flights, you always get A or B.

I don't really understand why anyone wouldn't like it unless they want to arrive late to boarding and then won't get a good seat and might get a middle one. If you don't care at all, you don't have to pay the extra $15-20 or whatever to get advance checkin. For short flights, I don't actually as I usually do fine just checking in online 24 hrs in advance, but the long haul ones I make sure I get a good position. Their tickets are usually still cheaper than alternatives, especially with the free baggage.

I"m glad for the no expiration although it usually wasn't a problem for me as I usually fly them within the US. But I have a lot piled up as I haven't flown hardly at all due to COVID in the last couple years.

"I really like being able to look around and avoid sitting near people who look like people I don't want to be near in various ways (like with small children, whatever), as little kids usually board between A and B groups, I believe. And if you pay for early bird checkin, which I always do for long distance flights, you always get A or B."

True, very small kids board before A I think? There is another priority class before A. Most recently I got B by remembering to check in at 24 hours. Lately with 100% full flights, that means only a middle seat is open. But I can chose to sit in the front of the plane, not next to a kid, and/or next to the only other person on the flight wearing a mask. For a 5 hour flight I can handle that.

The onboard experience is better on several other airlines although it would have to be an extra long haul to make it worthwhile to fly out of LAX (not to mention the difference in Lyft fares for me, a friend just got surged to $100 one way to LAX. vs $15 to LGB.

I will even take an extra connecting flight and layover to avoid LAX, LOL.